Breaking Free

by Teresa J. Reasor

  ****

  Zoe climbed behind the wheel and fastened her seatbelt. Had her mother been more at ease with the busy traffic in route to the base, she’d have asked her to drive to make it easier to avoid Hawk’s gaze.

  Though he tried to hide it, tension had settled in his shoulders and the hands he rested on his thighs.

  They stopped at the gate and waited while the MPs checked their passes then signaled them through. Following Hawk’s directions, she pulled into a parking slot in front of a single story brick building.

  “If you need a ride, just call mom’s cell and I’ll come pick you up,” Zoe said as he unbuckled his seat belt.

  He nodded. “I think I’ll be able to catch a ride, but I’ll keep it in mind just in case.” He rested a hand on her arm, and for a moment his gaze rested on her face before he got out of the car. He retrieved a gym bag from the back seat, and closing the door, walked away down the path.

  Clara transferred to the seat Hawk vacated. For a moment, both their attention rested on his back as he walked up the crisply edged sidewalk to the door of the building. “There’s something about a man in uniform,” Clara said on a sigh, her gaze followed Hawk, but something in her expression focused inward.

  Zoe fought against the pain to draw a full breath, as memories of her own rose up to haunt her.